Chapter 49
"No," Ling Wu answered decisively.
Sheng Yu laughed heartily, and finally picked up Ling Wu and carried her all the way to Fengqi Palace.
On the way, he couldn't help but murmur, "If only Jiaojiao had come to your father and mother's side sooner."
He didn't wait for Ling Wu's reply, but instead shook his head.
Who can say for sure about cause and effect? Who knows if my brother and his family had ascended the throne back then, would they have been able to tolerate him?
However, Ling Wu continued playing with the ring in her hand and answered without looking up, "It's not too late now."
Sheng Yu chuckled and affectionately tapped her nose, "You little rascal."
The struggle for the throne was also thwarted in the womb by the Crown Prince's swift and decisive actions, with the brothers maintaining a facade of brotherly harmony while each harboring their own thoughts.
Just after the New Year, Sheng Yu, 39, suddenly fell seriously ill.
The crown prince oversees the state.
The once vigorous Sheng Yu, now bedridden, was a far cry from his former self. He was terribly thin, and his eyes were half-closed as if he might collapse at any moment.
The Empress stood guard by the bedside, lost in thought.
The next moment, Sheng Yu opened his tired eyes and saw that it was the Empress. A slight smile appeared on his lips. He wanted to raise his hand to touch the Empress's cheek, but when he saw the sorrow in her eyes, he felt a little smug and satisfied.
"Zitong, you've softened your heart."
The Empress raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Sheng Yu's fingertips hovered in the air for a long time before finally retracting.
His voice grew lower and lower until only faint breathing could be heard. After a long while, he finally spoke: "I have left some words of advice. After I die, there will be no rumors that are detrimental to you. Just say that my time has come."
The Empress's fingers trembled slightly, but she still did not answer.
The longer he waited, the more disappointed Sheng Yu became. He forced a smile and said, "Perhaps Jiao Jiao is just using someone else's belly to return to us and mend the rift that has existed for so many years."
The Empress's throat tightened. "You... you know everything?" She knew that the one from back then was a daughter, so did she also know about her schemes all these years?
Sheng Yu habitually reached for the jade thumb ring on his fingertip, but found nothing. He paused for a moment, then chuckled, "The Emperor's secret guards have never been a figment of imagination."
The Emperor's secret guards, half-wielding their power to kill and half-wielding their power to spy, know everything that happens in the world.
The Empress's heart clenched for a moment. "Then why didn't you kill me back then?"
After thinking for a long time, Sheng Yu finally said only, "It is I who have wronged you."
He used his sense of necessity to cover up his ambition back then, and used his ambition to cover up his deep-rooted feelings back then.
The Empress felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she gritted her teeth and forced back the tears that were about to well up.
When Ling Wu arrived, Sheng Yu didn't have much time left. She also saw a familiar figure hovering in front of Sheng Yu's bed.
However, upon seeing her, the figure immediately landed and bowed, his face filled with surprise as he stood up straight.
In the small world, when mortals die, they are guided by underworld messengers. But for emperors, who are blessed with great fortune, it is the Black and White Impermanence who personally come to receive them.
The one in front of us is Black Impermanence, Mo Yu.
Ling Wu didn't look at him, and Mo Yu wasn't annoyed either, only staring at her with obedient eyes.
Sheng Yu, standing before Ling Wu, made no mention of the strangeness of his illness. He only gave each child a private instruction, and his eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Ling Wu.
"Jiaojiao..."
The prince's eyes also welled up with tears, and in the end, he let the tears stream down his cheeks. Whether they were real or not, the historians could not find any fault with them.
"Father, rest assured, my dear sister Jiaojiao, I have always regarded her as my own flesh and blood." He pondered for a moment and then said, "No matter what, they are my imperial brothers and sisters."
The implication was that as long as they did not harbor any rebellious intentions, he would protect them.
Sheng Yu was well aware that there were still the emperor's secret guards he had left behind, so he closed his eyes.
Just like when we first met, the young man, dressed in black with bright eyes, sealed our fate with just one glance.
Tears welled up in the Queen's eyes and finally fell one by one.
A mournful cry arose from beneath the emperor's throne, and the funeral bell tolled outside the Qianqing Palace, signifying the fall of an emperor.
After leaving the body, Sheng Yu was gently led away by Mo Yu. Before leaving, Sheng Yu wanted to take one last look at Jiao Jiao, whom he missed.
Mo Yu, however, was quite direct: "Whom you are worried about is none of your business."
"My lord?" Sheng Yu asked, puzzled.
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